As a wart-and-all depiction of life on an isolated New Zealand farm, which shows the stresses of strains of dealing with unruly sheep, malfunctioning machinery and dangerous terrain, Vigil is no doubt an important time capsule.
It might be studied generations from now, as a true snapshot of history. I can just imagine conferences devoted to it, populated by brooding academics debating it's quaint charms and 'how much we've left behind' by moving to a far more industrialised economy. We'll all be eating bugs soon instead of meat, fish and eggs dontcha know ;)
As a spectacle of entertainment though, it's a pretty pallid experience. Lot's of scenes of dirt-encrusted farmers discussing the finer points of their chosen profession is not my idea of fun... and that doesn't even take into account the many moments where there's no dialogue at all, just rustic people wandering around the countryside as the 'atmospheric' music swells to hitherto unheard levels of pomp.
All very touching, but it does little to alleviate the distinct impression you may be wasting your time a tad. Throwing in a half-hearted love affair, and a vague subplot about 'returning to civilisation' doesn't exactly make up for the overriding feeling of boredom, either.
Still, the girl is very good, Shame she didn't much of her acting career after this, but her choice I guess. And as mentioned, nowt much wrong with the cinematography.
But if I want a similar experience in the future, I'll probably skip this borefest and have a flick through Farmer's Weekly instead. Now, let's see... so, combine harvesters are half price off at the mo? Interesting, vveerrrryy interesting... 4/10.